India Indian music Jazz music Personal Warren's music
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Antigravity: Boogie For Hanuman
The second Antigravity CD, “Boogie For Hanuman,” was recorded during our year in India in 1994. Caroline Dillon added her ‘cello on some of the tracks. Finding Nikhil Sohoni as our drummer was an extraordinary piece of luck; he threw himself into learning the material with incredible focus. Ensemble morale was very high throughout…and because I’d taken the precaution of loading my suitcases with 1/2″ 8-track AMPEX tape, I was able to bring back the recordings and mix them later (which didn’t stop me from screwing up the mix as it went on the CD…not enough bass!).
Anyway, here are the pieces…hope you enjoy them. We loved making this CD.
Boogie For Hanuman
music Personal Warren's music: Antigravity String Band
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
The Antigravity String Band, 1982
By the end of 1981, the band had undergone significant changes in personnel. Dee Wood had too much else going on, and left the group (although he continued to play brilliantly in the “jazz” incarnation of Antigravity, documented here), and Skip Parente got a lucrative and creatively fulfilling gig with a major Irish band. After some shuffling, we wound up with Karl Boyle (on flute, pennywhistle and occasional guitar) and a fine fiddler named Anna Teigen, along with me, Anne Goodwin, Stefan Senders and Michelle Kisliuk.
It was this configuration that endured for several years. This band was certainly the most popular one I ever played in; because of the “world music” orientation we had a very different repertoire from any other string band on the scene (even though we did some traditional Appalachian and Irish numbers, they were recontextualized by being heard alongside Tibetan, Lebanese and African pieces) — but because of our instrumentation we had entree to all the venues of Massachusetts’ lively folk circuit.
Lover’s Desire
untitled Turkish Melody
United Like A Mighty River
Shona Agbekor
I’ll post more in the days to come as I get the pieces digitized and uploaded.
music Personal Warren's music: Antigravity String Band musical history
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
From the Vault: The Antigravity String Band, 1981
Around 1980, I worked out the fingering for a guitar arrangement of multiple parts of the Agbekor drum rhythms which I’d been studying with David Locke. The arrangement I came up with had the Totodzi part in the thumb, the Kagan part in the index finger, and the Gankogui (bell) part in the middle and ring fingers. I messed around with it for a while as a way of internalizing the relationship of the three parts, but never found a chordal structure that seemed satisfactory.
Then one day I was fiddling around with a DADF#AD open tuning, and discovered that the I-IV-I-V progression that manifested so often in group arrangements of Shona music (like Dumisani Maraire’s marimba ensembles) fell naturally under the fingers.
There were some other people in the Agbekor ensemble at the time who played stringed instruments, including Dee Wood (known at the time as “Dogwood”), my brother Stefan, Michelle Kisliuk and Anne Goodwin, and we began experimenting together with multi-instrument versions of the piece. I shifted to bass, and it started to turn into something delightful. Soon after that, we added the fiddle playing of Eddie Parente (known at the time as “Skip”), and we did a few concerts together, presenting our version of the Agbekor rhythms/Shona harmony along with some other pieces we threw together. Skip was a wonderful violinist who brought a beautiful sound to the group, and I was sorry to see him move on after a few months; he got offered a fabulous gig with a major Irish band and would have been a fool not to take it.
Here are a few recordings from our first concert, in May of 1981 at Studio Red Top in downtown Boston. We put together a 45-minute set that included two “Shona-ized” Ghanaian dance rhythms, Dee Wood’s nice arrangement of Abdullah Ibrahim’s piano piece “Tokai,” an Afghani melody called “Lover’s Desire” that I learned from an old lp by the Human Arts Ensemble, and my original composition “Night Melody.” The audience loved us. Loooooved us. That was rare for me; most of my performance ensembles were greeted with desultory applause and phrases like, “Gee, Warren, that was interesting.”
But I digress.
We led off with “Lover’s Desire.” I had threaded paper through the strings of my bass to give a buzzing sound.
The African adaptation that started it all, which we called “Shona Agbekor.” In rehearsal we would sometimes play this for an hour without stopping. Fun.
My original composition “Night Melody.” The scale is that of raga Malkauns, but the ensemble organization was inspired by recordings of Sundanese music which I’d been enjoying.
Abdullah Ibrahim’s “Tokai,” in Dee Wood’s beautiful arrangement — like a chorus of stringed instruments.
“Gahu” was the other African theme we developed…a real dance-party piece.
The band went through some personnel changes in the months after this concert, but continued to gig regularly for the next several years. I’ll be posting more of those recordings in the weeks to come.
Enjoy.
India Indian music Jazz music Warren's music: Ajit Soman Antigravity Ashish Manchanda Atul Keskar Indo-Jazz Ramakant Paranjpe Sudhir Parkhi Vijaya Sundaram
by Warren
4 comments
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Antigravity — The Indian Group, 1990-1991
Here are the pieces which make up the first Antigravity CD, released as “Antigravity — The Music of Warren Senders” (Accurate AC-4307), along with scans of the complete CD booklet & tray card. These were recorded at Ishwani Kendra Studios in Pune in 1990 and 1991.
This has been out of print for years. I only have a few mint copies left.
more »
Jazz music Warren's music: Antigravity Bob Pilkington Dee Wood old stuff Phil Scarff Rick Barry Tom MacDonald
by Warren
2 comments
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Antigravity, 1980s edition. One of the best bands I’ve ever played in.
ANTIGRAVITY
Phil Scarff – tenor and soprano saxophones.
Bob Pilkington – trombone and percussion.
D. Wood – guitar and percussion.
Warren Senders – bass and percussion.
Rick Barry – percussion.
Tom MacDonald – drums.
Farewell Concert: September 23, 1983.
Old Cambridge Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
This was an excellent band.
environment Indian music Jazz music vocalists Warren's music
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
World Music Against Climate Change — June 6, 2015
On Saturday, June 6, the eleventh “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include the brilliant jazz of Charlie Kohlhase’s “Explorers’ Club”, Esthema’s contemporary take on Balkan and Middle-Eastern traditions, and the awe-inspiring Indian rhythm duet of Pravin Sitaram and Amit Kavthekar. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance orders will be accepted until 3 pm on June 6.
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: World Music Against Climate Change” is the eleventh concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
“…Senders possesses a gift for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…” — Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
====================================
About The Artists
====================================
ESTHEMA
Esthema is a Boston-based ensemble of boundary-bending virtuosi who’ve been developing their unique sound since 2006, fusing progressive rock and jazz-fusion with the sounds of the traditional music of the Balkan region and the Near & Middle East. Andy Milas (guitar), Onur Dilisen (violin), Naseem Alatrash (cello), Mac Ritchey (oud & bouzouki), Tom Martin (bass), and George Lernis (drums & percussion) bring together both Western and Eastern influences, instruments, and concepts in a richly evocative musical tapestry.
Grant Moon of PROG Magazine says that Esthema’s “beautifully produced third album ‘Long Goodbye’ is a relentlessly classy and high-minded affair but with a knowing rock vibe,” while Skope Magazine’s Chris Marsh calls it “…a rich progressive rock record that harnesses classic and modern sounds.”
Esthema’s first CD, Apart From The Rest, was voted in the Top 25 independent recordings of 2008 at Indie-Music.com and in 2009. Joel Simches from Boston’s Noise Magazine stated, “this recording is nothing less than a true celebration of a number of different styles of world beat, jazz, rock, ethnic European and Middle Eastern traditional music” and John Collinge from Progression Magazine called it “a seamless blend of Eastern and Western motifs: Ethnic scales and meters intertwine delightfully with jazz-rock drums and bass beneath jazzy improv and winding melodies.”
Esthema released their second CD, The Hereness and Nowness of Things, in 2009. Lily Emeralde and Emma Dyllan of Phosphorescence Magazine called it “a world-class collaboration of the highest order,” and Barry Clevelend for Guitar Player wrote “the group plays at a truly world-class level, with authenticity, aplomb, and exuberance, resulting in a sumptuous blend.”
Since then, Esthema has been in the weekly Top 20 at Latch Fusion Radio alongside Fusion greats like Herbie Hancock, Return to Forever, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra; they have won the Top 25 of 2011 Award at Indie-Music.com, and their composition “Eastern Dance” went to number 4 on the Instrumental Charts at Indie-Music.com. In 2010 the International Association of Independent Recording Artists (“IAIRA”) certified Esthema’s “Eastern Dance” as an International Top 10. Compositions from all three releases are heard on radio programs and stations throughout the United States, Europe, and Turkey.
For information please visit www.esthema.com.
====================================
PRAVIN SITARAM & AMIT KAVTHEKAR
One of the most exciting forms of Indian classical music is the percussion duet. Blending passionate virtuosity with intricate mathematics and endlessly transforming rhythms, there is nothing remotely close to the power and ebullience two brilliant drummers bring when they interact. Boston is very lucky to have great artists like Pravin Sitaram and Amit Kavthekar to offer this experience to listeners.
Dr. Pravin Sitaram was introduced to mridangam at the age of 8, and has learnt this art from his Guru, Late Shri P. S. Parameswaran – a disciple of the legendary Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer. He was also fortunate to have advanced lessons with the Late Palghat R. Raghu.
Pravin’s sensitive and unobtrusive approach to mridangam accompaniment has been appreciated by outstanding artistes like Dr. R. K. Srikantan, Smt. R. Vedavalli & Madurai Shri T. N. Seshagopalan, Shri T. M. Krishna, Violin maestros – Shri G. J. R. Krishnan, Lalgudi Smt. Vijayalakshmi, and Shri Mysore Manjunath. Pravin has worked with many talents in the New England area and has participated in cross-cultural exchanges in music.
Pravin is a well-known teacher in the Boston area, teaching mridangam to many students over the past several years, several of whom are now performing for concerts in the New England area. He has been a faculty member at the Learnquest Academy of Music since 2003. His students have participated and won prizes in competitions held in North America.
Amit Kavthekar, a formally-recognized disciple of the tabla master Ustad Alla Rakha, has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, he began learning the art of tabla playing, and he has performed with legends of Indian classical music as well as fusion and experimental projects. His dexterity and virtuosity have elicited applause and admiration all over the world.
Amit teaches Tabla in the American School of Bombay (ASB), in New England School of Music, and as the director of the World Music Ensemble at Salem State University for the World Music Ensemble.
====================================
CHARLIE KOHLHASE and
the EXPLORERS’ CLUB
“As a mainstay in Boston’s jazz scene, saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has helped cultivate the city as one of America’s most fertile hotbeds for creative music.”
(John Murph, Jazz Times Magazine)
Alto and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has been a part of Boston’s jazz scene for more than thirty years. After private studies with Stan Strickland and Roswell Rudd, Kohlhase moved to Boston from his native New Hampshire in 1980. In 1989 he formed the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet, a band that worked around Boston and toured nationally for a dozen years.
Kohlhase has recently been leading two ensembles: the Explorers’ Club, a septet with two reeds, trombone, guitar, bass and two drummers and the Saxophone Support Group, a woodwind octet playing saxophone-oriented compositions by Julius Hemphill, Steve Lacy, John Tchicai and Kohlhase. 2009 saw the release of the Explorers Club CD “Adventures” on Vermont’s Boxholder label. Kohlhase also co-led groups with the late, great Danish/ Congolese saxophonist John Tchicai for New England tours in 1993, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2006. Charlie was a member of Boston’s Either/ Orchestra from 1987 to 2001, playing throughout North America, Europe and Russia. Recent sideman activities have included work with the Makanda Project, an Octet dedicated to performing unrecorded compositions by the late woodwind player/composer Makanda Ken McIntyre, bassist Kit Demos’ Flame-Tet and trumpeter Daniel Rosenthal’s Quintet.
Charlie, along with Dave Douglas and Roswell Rudd, was an artist-in-residence at Harvard for Spring 2003. In May 2003 Kohlhase recorded with Anthony Braxton’s Genome Project and in June worked with violinist/composer Leroy Jenkins at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Charlie rejoined the Either/Orchestra in 2008 and has worked with them along with Ethio-Jazz greats Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Alemayhu Eschete and Teshome Mitiku in venues ranging from Chicago to London, Toronto to Germany and Holland to Ethiopia.
Charlie has also been active in jazz radio for many years, most recently hosting “Research & Development” Monday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM on WMBR-FM in Cambridge. He directs the Modern American Music Repertory Ensemble at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.
“Kohlhase’s own themes are as action-packed as a comic book and as spontaneous in feel as graffiti.”
(Nate Dorward, Squid’s Ear)
=============================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
350MA.org is the Massachusetts Chapter of this worldwide advocacy group, and the hub for the Better Future Project.
=============================================
The Community Church of Boston is a free community united for the study and practice of universal religion, seeking to apply ethical ideals to individual life and the democratic and cooperative principle to all forms of social and economic life. We invite you to read on to discover more about us, join us one Sunday for a thought-provoking and joyful time, or contact the church to find out more about our community: info@communitychurchofboston.org.
=============================================
Warren Senders is the contact person for “World Music Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
=======================================================================
On Friday, December 5, the tenth “Playing For The Planet” benefit concert will showcase master musicians from three different musical traditions in a rare evening of pan-cultural improvisation, with all proceeds going to benefit the environmental advocacy group 350MA.org. The performers include Nima Janmohammadi, a contemporary master of Persian classical music; Triarky, a brilliant jazz “power trio” featuring violinist Mimi Rabson and the electric tuba of David Harris; and the Hindustani classical singing of Warren Senders, with George Ruckert & Amit Kavthekar. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at The Community Church Of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (Copley Square), Boston. Admission is $20; $15 students & seniors. For information, please call 781-396-0734, or visit the event website at www.warrensenders.com.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance Ticket Orders Are Accepted Until 3 pm on December 5. Tickets will be emailed directly to your inbox up to that time!
If you prefer to use PayPal, please use the link below:
“Playing For The Planet: Improvisors Against Climate Change” is the tenth concert in an ongoing series of cross-cultural events produced by Boston-area musician and environmental activist Warren Senders. These concerts were conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
“…Senders possesses a gift for assembling fascinating programs.”
— Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe —
Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe, and share key musical values: listening, honesty, creativity, and respect. And, of course, they are all committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. It’ll be an incredible evening of powerful music — from some of the finest musicians in New England and the world.
“…pleasant surprises…an open-ended, floating, world music festival…” — Steve Elman, ArtsFuse —
====================================
About The Artists
====================================
Nima Janmohammadi
Born in 1984, Iranian multi-instrumentalist and composer Nima Janmohammadi started playing Setar at the age of seven with Mehrdad Torabi. While his main focus has been in playing Setar, he also plays Oud, Robab, Kamanche, Gheychak and vocal repertoire of Persian music. He continued studying various styles of Persian music and completing his repertoire with masters such as Jalal Zolfunun and Massoud Shaari, and later with the legendary masters of Persian music: Mohammad-Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh. He also studied ethnomusicology and theory of Persian music with professor Dr. Mohsen Hajarian.
Finishing his bachelor’s degree in Persian music, he began his career as a professional teacher and performer in Iran. While getting his Master’s Degree and Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory of Music, Nima had the advantage of working with great musicians and composers including Hankus Netsky, Ran Blake, Anthony Coleman, Tanya Kalmanovich, Andreia Pinto-Correia and Katarina Miljkovic.
Nima teaches at New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He is an international performer and holds master classes all over the world.
====================================
TRIARKY
[
Low-brass master David Harris and virtuoso violinist Mimi Rabson collaborate with drummer Phil Neighbors in Triarky, a “power trio” performing all original music referencing rock, funk, ska, afro pop, middle eastern, and contemporary jazz. The music is full of driving grooves and heavy energy, busting out with rhythm, dissonance, and improvising.
David Harris has distinguished himself as a trombonist and composer/arranger in a multitude of musical styles. Originally from University City, MO., Mr. Harris associates with a wide variety of musicians performing jazz, R&B, rock, pop, and international folk music. As a jazz composer, he has twice won the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship for music composition. On both tuba and trombone, David has been performing with the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble since 2010, and is longtime trombonist and composer/arranger for the Jazz Composers’ Alliance Orchestra, with which he performs and records. An associate-professor at Berklee College of Music, Mr. Harris has been featured on over 40 albums, in the soundtrack for Woody Allen’s “Deconstructing Harry”, the klezmer soundtrack for the movie “Stranger Among Us”, the soundtrack for the movie “Opposite of Sex,” and various TV soundtracks and commercials as well. A leader in the klezmer revival, he was the founding trombonist for the Klezmer Conservatory Band, with whom he recorded and toured. Mr. Harris has performed around the world, including the Berlin Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, with the Philadelphia Pops, at the Smithsonian Institute, and in jazz clubs such as the Blue Note, the Knitting Factory and Tonic.
Mimi Rabson is one of Boston’s most creative and versatile musicians. A first-prize winner of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in composition, her compositions and arrangements are published by StringLetter Press (distributed by Hal Leonard), and include many original pieces along with arrangements of music by Duke Ellington, James Brown and Cole Porter. Ms. Rabson created the Really Eclectic String Quartet, and was a founding member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Ms. Rabson appeared with Itzhak Perlman on the recording called “In the Fiddler’s House” and on “The Late Show with David Letterman”. She was featured in a documentary about Klezmer music called “A Jumpin’ Night in the Garden of Eden”. Ms. Rabson served as musical director to academy award winner, Joel Grey in his production of “Borschtcapades ‘94”. Her composition “Klezzified” was featured on Saturday Night Live. Other performance credits include the premiere of “Fresh Faust” by Leroy Jenkins, soundtrack for “Sensorium”- the award winning film by Karen Aqua, with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Meatloaf, Kristin Chenoweth, the Boston Gay Men’s Choir, the Boston Camarata, the New England Ragtime Ensemble, the Klezmatics, Deborah Henson-Conant, the Pablo Ablanedo Octet, and XLCR. She has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion twice, at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Wolf Trap, the Mann Center, the Place des Arts in Montreal and other world class venues.
Phil Neighbors is originally from Cincinnati, and has lived in Boston since 1995. He has performed and/or recorded with groups as diverse as: The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Dave Birkin’s Hot Shots, the Sam Davis group, The Coots, the Jeff Robinson Trio, and the Funky White Honkies, Agachiko, and Triarky.
====================================
Warren Senders and The Raga Ensemble
One of the world’s great improvisational song forms is khyal, the richly ornamented classical singing of North Indian tradition. Accompanied by the harmonium of George Ruckert and the tabla of Amit Kavthekar, Warren Senders weaves a hypnotic tapestry of sound in his renditions of traditional ragas. Acclaimed as the foremost non-Indian performer of this beautiful idiom, Senders lived in India for many years, learning the khyal style from master teacher Pt. S.G. Devasthali. He has performed throughout the world, enrapturing audiences and critics with a unique combination of authenticity and originality. His most recent CD release, “The Beauty of Khyal,” features mesmerizing renditions of five evening and night ragas.
“…an amazing man, an amazing artist.”
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, interviewed in Little India, September 2002
Mr. Senders has received grants and fellowships including the Indo-American Fellowship, the Jon B. Higgins Memorial Scholarship for Indian Music, a Senior Research Fellowship and a Performing Arts Fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies, support for music composition from Meet the Composer, and travel awards from the Fund for U.S. Artists. His writings on music have been published by Rhythm Magazine, Bansuri, the New England Conservatory Journal for Learning Through Music, and World Rhythm. Also a jazz musician, his original instrumental music can be heard on cds by “Antigravity” and the Jazz Composers’ Alliance Orchestra.
”Warren’s talent of keeping listeners engrossed by his delightful singing…comes from this same attitude of heartily enjoying the process of musical discovery.”
— Chaitanya Kunte, Tarun Bharat, Pune, India —
An internationally recognized educator and a faculty member of Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music, Mr. Senders has given hundreds of lecture-demonstrations, master-classes and clinics, for interested learners from kindergartners to elders. He has developed extensive course material on the structure and aesthetics of Hindustani music, and has introduced students students at colleges and universities all over the United States, Canada and India to aspects of Indian music.
=============================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
=============================================
Warren Senders is the contact person for “Voices Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
India Indian music music Personal Warren's music
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Interstices – String Quartet (composed 1984, performed 1993)
“Interstices” had its origin in a chart I wrote for the first incarnation of Antigravity, which included all the basic ingredients: a seven-beat vamp, a twisted melody in a Phrygian Maj7 scale, and the superimposition of 6-beat groups on the 7-beat structure to create a 42-beat cross-rhythm. But I feel that the full realization of these ideas was only made possible by the quartet format.
I composed the string quartet score of “Interstices” in 1984 on a visit to New Paltz, NY. The project was originally undertaken as a project for Mimi Rabson’s R.E.S.Q. (Really Eclectic String Quartet), which played it in a recording session before I left for India the first time in 1985.
The version for RESQ was through-composed for their unusual orchestration of 3 violins and bass. Their version sounded great and was the only recorded rendition for many years. In 1990 I assembled a “New Ensemble Music” concert and prepared the piece for performance by 2 violins, viola, and bass — but the woman who was to play 2nd violin disappeared 10 days before the concert and never returned, and it wound up being performed as a trio.
In 1993 I put together another “New Ensemble Music” concert, and this time I got lucky. John Styklunas was playing bass, and he brought his colleague Steve Garrett in on ‘cello; I rewrote the viola part for ‘cello, and I think it sounds great that way. Teresa Marrin and Tomoko Iwamoto did a great job on both violins. There is no distinction between first and second fiddles in terms of the complexity or ranking of the parts.
My Own Music
My Khyal Performances
University of Southern Maine, May 5, 2023
Bandra Concert, August 21, 2013
Dadar Concert, August 13, 2013
Pune Concert, August 11, 2013
Toronto, July 20, 2013
Nashik Concert, August 19, 2011
Pune Concert, August 20, 2011
Boston, “Singing For The Planet,” June 2010
Cambridge, “Playing For The Planet,” October 24, 2009
The “Singing The Long Now” Project
My work in Indo-Jazz Synthesis Music
Antigravity in India: 1994 — released as “Boogie For Hanuman” (Accurate AC-5018)
Miscellaneous Compositions for Miscellaneous Ensembles
Mundai Malhar: Trombone Quartet (1987 composition, 1990 performance)
Yes, No, Maybe? — Trombone duet (1993 performance)
Native Places: Trio for flute, ‘cello and piano (1988 composition, 1993 performance)
Interstices, for modified string quartet (composed 1984, performed 1993)
The Web of Departure, for trombone and modified string quartet (composed and performed in 1993)Horn Gamelan, for brass and wind ensemble (composed 1981, modified and performed 1990)
Musical Fragments from my work as an educator:
Compositions for the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra:
Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra: Chazz’ Mingus Story (2007 concert)
Elegies and Recollections: In Memory of Dorothy Carter (2005 performance)
“It’s Taken Me My Whole Life…” — a study in the virtues of omission.
Three Dreams of Jimi — Three items associated with Jimi Hendrix, re-conceived and combined as a solo vehicle for Melanie Howell Brooks’ bass clarinet virtuosity.
If Six Was Nine — Bob Pilkington’s arrangement of this Jimi Hendrix piece features a segment of my vocalizing at the end.
Performances from the 1980s and Earlier:
The Antigravity String Band, 1982
The Antigravity String Band, 1981
environment India music: benefit concert
by Warren
2 comments
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Dancing For The Planet
Navarasa Dance Theater
Nani Agbeli & The Agbekor Society
Zoé Dance Company
Friday, June 21 — 7:00 pm — Boston
On Friday, June 21, three dance companies representing diverse movement traditions will join together to draw attention to the global climate crisis. Featured artists are the Zoé Dance Company, the Navarasa Dance Theater, and Nani Agbeli & The Agbekor Society. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $20; $15 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to 350ma, the Massachusetts chapter of the environmental organization www.350.org. For information, please call 781-396-0734, visit “Dancing For The Planet” on Facebook, or send us an email.
“Dancing For The Planet” is the seventh concert in the “Playing For The Planet” series, conceived as a way for creative performers to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent styles from three different parts of the globe. Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes. It’ll be an evening of brilliant dance and movement — for the central cause of our century.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance Ticket Orders Are Accepted Until 3 pm on June 21. Orders received after Tuesday, June 18 will be held at the door.
About the Artists
=======================================================
Navarasa Dance Theater was founded by renowned dancer/choreographer Dr. Aparna Sindhoor. Inspired by the eclectic performing arts traditions and boldly knitting together dance, singing, martial arts, and original music into seamless theatrical presentations, Navarasa’s multilayered, multilingual productions inspire, engage and entertain audiences around the world.
With original movement vocabulary created by choreographers Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda along with theatrical narratives designed by S M Raju, Navarasa Dance Theater’s work is simultaneously specific and universal.
Navarasa Dance Theater has performed in North America, Asia and Europe and has been presented at various festivals and venues including the Bates Dance Festival, Lincoln Center (NYC), East West Players, LA and NJPAC, Jacob’s Pillow and Asian American Theater Festival, USA; Teesri Duniya Theater, Canada; Amol Palekhar’s Beyond Words Theatre Festival and Bahuroopi National Theatre Festival, India; and Franco Dragone’s INDIA show in Germany. With performing arts training schools in USA and India, Navarasa’s ongoing teaching programs include the “Dance for Everyone” project that offers scholarships and free dance training for underprivileged children and adults.
======================================================
Founded in 2002, Zoé Dance has presented works by Callie Chapman Korn, Ivan Korn, Emily Beattie and Meghan Ballog. Zoé Dance nurtures the art of dance, dance theatre and performance through accessible performance venues, educates the public and creates social awareness through themes explored in repertory, and has presented its work since 2002 in various venues and performance opportunities around Boston and internationally such as: World Music/CRASH Arts’ “Ten’s the Limit” (2005 and 2007), ArtBeat 2004 and 2009, “Virgin”, produced by the Dance Renewal Project, Harvard Square’s “May Fair” 2004, with the Choreographers Group 2004, Earth Dance’s Outdoor Performance Festival 2003, Corporación Cultural de Las Condes (Santiago, Chile) 2007, Boston Center for the Arts’ Mills Gallery as a featured artist of the Movement at the Mills residency.
Zoe has also presented its work at the Dance Complex, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Tower Auditorium at Massachuestts College of Art, the Boston Common, Union Square Plaza, and Green Street Studios. Zoé Dance was awarded a project grant from the Somerville Arts Council (2010) and was a finalist for the Boston Dance Alliance’s Rehearsal and Retreat Fellowship (2009).
Callie Chapman Korn (artistic director): Callie holds a B.F.A. from the Boston Conservatory. With Zoé, Callie has presented her work in venues such as CrashArts‘ “Ten’s the Limit” at the ICA and Green Street Studios, Corporacion Cultural de Las Condes (Santiago, Chile), multiple self-produced concerts, festivals, part of the Dance Renewal Project’s “Virgin”, Dance Complex’s Shared Choreographers Concert. She currently dances for Prometheus Dance and has worked with artists such as: Nicola Hawkins, Karen Murphy and Emily Beattie. She has collaborated with video artists Greg Shea and Ken Kinna, composer Ivan Korn, and composers/musicians Pancho Molina and Billy Herron. Callie also helped develop the Dance Renewal Project and is currently the Marketing and Design Associate for the Boston Dance Alliance.
======================================================
Known for his energy, athleticism, and precision on stage, the charismatic Nani Kwashi Agbeli is a native of the Ewe from the Volta Region of Ghana, W. Africa. He received his drum and dance training from his father, Godwin K. Agbeli, who was the chairman of the National Folkloric Company at the Arts Council of Ghana. Nani performed with and led the cultural group Sankofa Root II in Ghana where they received many awards.
For nine years, he served as the lead drum and dance instructor at the Dagbe Cultural Center, a school that trains domestic and international students in Ghanaian traditional arts, and is now on the faculty of the Music Department at Tufts University, where he and directs the Kiniwe Ensemble and teaches an integrated curriculum in the traditional singing, drumming and dancing of Ghana.
Nani also teaches Ghanaian dance and drumming at Brandeis University and Mount Holyoke College, along with Berklee College of Music, the Edna Manley School in Jamaica, Bowling Green University, and the University of Virginia, among others. He currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Agbekor Drum & Dance Society began in 1979 as a project to study and perform repertory from Africa, primarily focusing on two separate repertoires: Ewe and Dagomba. The homeland of the Ewe people is along the Atlantic Coast of western Africa in the nation states of Ghana and Togo. The Dagomba homeland is in savanna grasslands several hundred miles to the north and the lands of their traditional kingdom, Dagbon, are entirely within the current borders of Ghana. In Ewe drumming, each instrument has a specific rhythm that it repeats over and over. Riding on this musical wave, so to speak, the lead drum sends musical signals that cue dancers when to do their different variations. In Dagomba dance-drumming, four different drum parts intertwine their variations. In both Ewe and Dagomba traditions, each item of repertory has its unique purpose, meaning, history, and performance personality.
In their frequent collaborations with Ghanaian master drummers, the Agbekor Society continues to renew its connection with its African sources. The Society has appeared in clubs, concerts, lecture-demonstrations and festivals throughout New England, and in collaborations with jazz and “world music” artists like Natraj, Antigravity and the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra.
======================================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen headed the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
======================================================
Warren Senders is the contact person for “Dancing For The Planet.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.
======================================================
“Dancing For The Planet” will be pleased to supply photographs and promotional materials for each of the artists performing at this event.
environment: benefit concert
by Warren
leave a comment
Meta
SiteMeter
Brighter Planet
Singing For The Planet: Songs Against Climate Change
Warren Senders / Toni Lynn Washington / Dean Stevens
Three Of New England’s Most Creative Singers Join Voices Against Climate Change
Friday, April 19 — 7:00 pm
Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston
On Friday, April 19, three singers from diverse musical traditions will join together to draw attention to the global climate crisis. Featured artists are: singer-songwriter Dean Stevens, Hindustani classical vocalist Warren Senders, and Boston’s “Queen of the Blues,” Toni Lynn Washington. The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $20; $15 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to the environmental organization www.350.org. For information, please call 781-396-0734, visit “Singing For The Planet” on Facebook, or go to the event website.
“Singing For The Planet” is the seventh concert in the “Playing For The Planet” series, conceived as a way for creative musicians to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent musical styles from three different parts of the globe. While Stevens, Senders and Washington sing in different languages and genres, all are virtuoso performers sharing the core values of expression, emotion and honesty. And, of course, all three artists and their accompanists are committed to raising awareness of the potentially devastating effects of global warming. Their choice of beneficiary, 350.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes. It’ll be an evening of great vocal music, full of exquisite melody, rhythm, emotion and expression — from three singers who are genuine masters of their craft.
Purchase tickets online from CCNOW:
Regular admission: $20
Student/Senior Admission: $15
Advance Ticket Orders Are Accepted Until 3 pm on April 19. Orders received after Tuesday, April 16 will be held at the door.
About the Artists
=======================================================
Dean Stevens
“Powerful…moving political performer”
— Boston Globe —
For twenty five years Dean Stevens has delighted audiences of all ages throughout the Americas. An exuberant performer of distinctive style and wit, he combines an intricate, self-taught guitar style with a versatile and expressive singing voice.
“Dean Stevens is a charming entertainer, a musician of great sensitivity and wit. His spirit of joy and sharing shines through his music.”
— Jerry Christen, New Song Coffeehouse —
He has established himself as a formidable creator and interpreter of a wide spectrum of songs in English and Spanish. His own material explores a variety of personal and social topics, paints sketches of people and places, celebrates the Earth, and annoys the narrow minded.
“Dean Stevens will inspire you. Great voice!”
— Pete Seeger —
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Dean is a lifelong student of Latin America. He learned Spanish at an early age, and readily absorbed the musical and topical influences of the region. He travels frequently to Central America, and has become known for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees returning to their homes in El Salvador and Guatemala.
“Seeing and hearing Dean Stevens live on stage is proof that sanity,
literacy, love, hope, and the forces of good are still alive and well and at work in the universe. Every song is offered with immediacy, humanity, and humor underscored by the most articulate and inspired guitar work you’ll hear anywhere on the topical folk circuit….a thinking and compassionate master communicator at the peak of his powers. Losing your faith? Go to a Dean Stevens concert!”
— Geoff Bartley —
Dean Stevens has four highly acclaimed recordings to his credit. His last release, “Eyes of Wonder” (Volcano Records), is a collection of songs in English and Spanish, with guest appearances by Sol y Canto, Randy Sabien, Linda Waterfall, and others.
“A performer with keen vision, tenacity and wisdom to inspire and to entertain”
— Dirty Linen Magazine —
======================================================
Toni Lynn Washington
Boston’s Queen Of The Blues
Born in North Carolina in 1937, Toni Lynn Washington began singing as a child. Over the past four decades she has become one of America’s most widely respected contemporary blues singers, and Boston’s own “Queen of The Blues.” Recipient of the 1999 Boston Blues Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award, she currently records for the NorthernBlues label. Her rich, powerful and expressive voice makes her performances memorable and exciting.
Toni Lynn and her ensemble have performed throughout North America and Europe, including the Saratoga Jazz Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, Memphis in May, and the Newport Jazz Festival at Sea (aboard the QE2) etc. She has received seven WC Handy National Blues Award nominations (including 2003, 2004 and 2005 “Soul-Blues Female Performer of the Year” nominations.), and many other award nominations for her previous albums including “Album of the Year” at the W.C. Handy Awards, “Album of the Year” at the NAIRD Awards, and “Outstanding Blues Album” at the Boston Music Awards, a 2006 BMA nomination, participation in charitable projects like the Respond II CD (with Joan Baez…), and critical acclaim from the media, including Essence Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, Living Blues, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Blues Revue, The Ottawa Citizen, Big City Blues, Boston Magazine, The Boston Herald , Jazziz, Downbeat, The House of Blues Radio Hour, NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ , Mountain Stage, The Boston Phoenix, Bluestage, WBOS, WGBH, WFNX, etc., and the 1999 Boston Blues Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Washington shows great range, moving from piquant jazz [to] steamy boogie-woogie…The dizzying range feels seamless… Washington(‘s) style and grace are queenly, indeed.”
— Steve Morse, Boston Globe —
Washington’s refined style can be summed up in one word: classic.
— Blues Review —
“Her combination of blues and traditional R&B grooves proved a huge hit…. She was a huge discovery…”
— SF Blues —
“She will make you melt”
— Boston Magazine —
======================================================
Warren Senders and The Raga Ensemble
One of the world’s great improvisational song forms is khyal, the richly ornamented classical singing of North Indian tradition. Accompanied by the tabla of Amit Kavthekar, the harmonium of George Ruckert, and the trance-inducing drone of tamboura, Warren Senders weaves a hypnotic tapestry of sound in his rendition of traditional ragas. Acclaimed as the foremost non-Indian performer of this beautiful idiom, Senders lived in India for many years, learning the khyal style from master teacher Pt. S.G. Devasthali. He has performed throughout the world, enrapturing audiences and critics with a unique combination of authenticity and originality.
“…an amazing man, an amazing artist.” Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, interviewed in Little India, September 2002
“Only an artist of great maturity could successfully balance this unique combination of elements…a level of inventiveness and emotional expression that is extraordinary.”
Teed Rockwell, India Currents, September 1999
He has received grants and fellowships including the Indo-American Fellowship, the Jon B. Higgins Memorial Scholarship for Indian Music, a Senior Research Fellowship and a Performing Arts Fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies, support for music composition from Meet the Composer, and travel awards from the Fund for U.S. Artists. His writings on music have been published by Rhythm Magazine, Bansuri, the New England Conservatory Journal for Learning Through Music, and World Rhythm. Also a jazz musician, his original instrumental music can be heard on cds by “Antigravity” and the Jazz Composers’ Alliance Orchestra.
”Warren’s talent of keeping listeners engrossed by his delightful singing…comes from this same attitude of heartily enjoying the process of musical discovery.”
— Chaitanya Kunte, Tarun Bharat —
“Listening to Warren singing a khayal composition in raga
Shivaranjani, one is amazed at his clear diction and his flawless
pronunciation of Urdu words….a musical journey that is beyond
classification or defined boundaries.”
— Satyakam Chowdhury, Times of India —
An internationally recognized educator, Mr. Senders has given hundreds of lecture-demonstrations, master-classes and clinics, for interested learners from kindergartners to elders. He has developed extensive course material on the structure and aesthetics of Hindustani music, and has introduced students at colleges and universities all over the United States, Canada and India to aspects of Indian music. He is a faculty member of Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music.
=============================================
About www.350.org and the number 350:
Co-founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, 350.org is the hub of a worldwide network of over two hundred environmental organizations, all with a common target: persuading the world’s countries to unite in an effort to reduce global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million or less. Climatologist Dr. James Hansen says, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” (Dr. Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City, and is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue.) Activists involved in the 350 movement include Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Vandana Shiva (world-renowned environmental leader and thinker), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom and human rights), Van Jones, Bianca Jagger, Dr. James Hansen, Barbara Kingsolver and many more.
Warren Senders is the contact person for “Voices Against Climate Change.” He is one of thousands of concerned global citizens hoping to trigger positive change through social action and the arts. He can be reached at warvij@verizon.net or by telephone at 781-396-0734.